Packing Night

We're all in the living room. My sister has a huge blue suitcase in the middle of the room, her clothes scattered on various couches and chairs. She leaves tomorrow for her first trip to Europe. And we're all so excited for her. From our enthusiasm, you would think we were all travelling together. The five of us - my mom, sister, and two friends - are lounging on the empty chairs and couches. Her plan is to stay up all night, so that she can sleep on the long flight. Our plan is to stay up with her until we drop off to sleep. So far, she has outfits planned for two of the five weeks.

Outside, the streetlamp struggles to stay awake. It flickers on, off, on, off. Pause. Then back on again.

Our spontaneous laughter fills the room. We have music playing in the background, along with the quiet sounds of my brother (or is that dad?) snoring in the other room.

Two hours later, we've moved from sitting upright to leaning on each other, now we're all rather squished together on the long, blue couch, lying down and hearing the sounds of each other's breaths. The music takes up more and more space. The suitcase is half-full, and all the clothes is now organized into neat piles. It's hard to believe she's actually leaving to travel in Europe, just like we dreamed about when we were little. We're so, so happy for her and just as happy to share these times of packing and planning. I love sister-nights like this.